Application and method for sanitary beer pong

ABSTRACT

A more sanitary application and method of playing beer pong that permits the drinking beverage to remain contained within the cups in play by resting within the cups in play insert cups having catch flaps that let ping pong balls in and keeps them from bouncing out.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to, and the full benefit of, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/122,013, filed on Oct. 8, 2014, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference hereto.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This technology relates generally to the field of beer pong improvements, and more particularly to applications and methods of sanitizing classic beer pong game play.

BACKGROUND

The game play of classic beer pong, also known as “Beirut,” typically involves drinking beverages from cups after a ping pong ball “contacts the surface of the beverage contained within the cup.” See http://www.beirut-guide.com/rules/basic.php#rid14. Often times beer pong is played in less than sanitary environments, inevitably resulting in players drinking beverages from cups that a dirty ping pong ball has contacted. Several attempts have been made to avoid such unsanitary game play, but each such attempt fails to adequately model the classic game. One such prior art attempt introduces the addition of a “rinse cup” filled with water, used to rinse off a ball after it has contacted the floor. This attempt fails to protect against contact with unsanitary hands and requires frequent change out of the rinse water. Another such prior art attempt includes the use of empty cups, wherein the beverage to be consumed is contained in a separate cup, but with no liquid in the cups in play, this attempt results in balls that bounce in and out of cups in play, thereby resulting in the introduction of additional contaminants. The deficiencies of this attempt, and proposed solutions, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,899,590 to Kahn et al. herein incorporated by reference as part of this description. Kahn describes methods to retain balls and stabilize non-beverage containing cups from tipping over, but Kahn's methods explicitly teach away from ball retention means that permit the drinking beverage to remain in the cups in play. There is a need for a more sanitary application and method of playing beer pong that permits the drinking beverage to remain contained within the cups in play.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 depicts an exploded perspective view of an example of an exemplary beer pong system of the present invention comprising a ping pong ball, an insert cup with catch flaps, and a stock red drinking cup.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This written description is provided to meet the enablement requirements of the patent statute without imposing limitations that are not recited in the claims. Referring now to the exemplary beer pong system depicted in FIG. 1, during game play a ping pong ball 10 is thrown towards a stock red drinking cup 20 with the goal of passing vertically through a cross-sectional area of the cup rim 22. The cup 20 has a cup base 24 and a cup side wall 26 that extends from the cup base 24 to the cup rim 22. The cup rim 22 has a wider diameter than the cup base 24. An insert cup 30 includes an insert cup rim 32, an insert cup base 34, an insert cup side wall 36, and at least one insert cup flap 38. In this example, the insert cup 30 fits inside of the cup 20 without the insert cup base 34 reaching the cup base 24 because the insert cup rim 32 has a diameter substantially similar to the diameter of the cup rim 22 and the vertical height of the insert cup 30 is less than the vertical height of the cup 20. That difference in heights permits a beverage to sit at the bottom of the cup 20 without contacting the insert cup base 34. In this example, an insert cup flap 38 extends inward from the insert cup side wall 36 towards a vertical axis 40, wherein the insert cup flap 38 has a length and rigidity that permits a ping pong ball 10 to pass through the insert cup rim 32 but not back out.

The insert cup flaps of the present invention are not limited to the particular geometry, length, number, or arrangement shown in this example. Rather, the present invention discloses an application and method of more cleanly playing beer pong with the use of an insert cup that protects the beer pong cup's beverage from contact with the ping pong ball, while also catching the ping pong ball and allowing for easy retrieval of the ping pong ball with a participant's fingers. In practice, when a ping pong ball 10 begins to enter the insert cup 30, that is inserted into the cup 20, the ping pong ball 10 first contacts an insert cup flap 38. That contact between ping pong ball 10 and insert cup flap 38, deflects the position of the insert cup flap 38 towards the insert cup sidewall 36, thereby reducing the speed of the ping pong ball 10 as it heads toward the insert cup base 34. If the speed of the ping pong ball 10 was not sufficiently reduced on first contact with the insert cup flap 38, and the ping pong ball begins to bounce back towards the insert cup rim 32 with enough speed that it could exit the insert cup 30, then the ping pong ball 10 will again contact an insert cup flap 38, thereby restricting the ping pong ball 10 from exiting the insert cup 30 and leaving the ping pong ball 10 to bounce back down to the insert cup base 34 before coming to rest there. A participant may remove the insert cup 30 from the cup 20 and drink the contents of the cup 20 either before or after the participant reaches into the insert cup 30 to retrieve the ping pong ball 10 with their fingers.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by the above described exemplary embodiment. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A beer pong system comprising: a ping pong ball; a first cup configured to contain an uncontained liquid in a bottom portion of said first cup; a second cup configured to rest within said first cup without extending into said bottom portion of said first cup, said second cup including a base, a sidewall, and at least one catch flap, wherein a first catch flap has a proximal and a distal end, wherein a portion of said first catch flap proximal end is connected to a portion of said sidewall and said first catch flap distal end is oriented towards a center point of said second cup; and wherein said first catch flap is configured such that, when the system is arranged with said second cup resting within said first cup and said ping pong ball is projected into said second cup, when said ping pong ball contacts said first catch flap, said first catch flap will deflect enough such that said ping pong ball is slowed enough such that it will not bounce back out of said second cup after contacting said base.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said first catch flap is configured to deflect resulting largely from a flexibility in said first catch flap between said first catch flap proximal end and said first catch flap distal end.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said first catch flap is configured to deflect resulting largely from a flexible connection between said first catch flap proximal end and said sidewall.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein said second cup further includes a second catch flap.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein said first catch flap is arranged opposite said second catch flap, and said first and second catch flap are each flexibly connected to said sidewall and configured to rest against said sidewall upon deflection.
 6. The system of claim 4, wherein said first catch flap is arranged opposite said second catch flap, and said first and second catch flap each are protrusions integral with said sidewall.
 7. The system of claim 4, wherein said second cup further includes a third catch flap.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein said second cup further includes a fourth catch flap.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein each said catch flap is arranged in a symmetrical distribution configured to deflect resulting largely from a flexible connection between said first catch flap proximal end and said sidewall.
 10. A beer pong insert cup comprising: a base; a sidewall connected to said base; and a catch flap having a first end connected to a first portion of said sidewall and a second end extending toward a second portion of said sidewall.
 11. The insert cup of claim 10, wherein said catch flap is configured to deflect resulting largely from a flexibility in said catch flap between said first end and said second end.
 12. The insert cup of claim 10, wherein said catch flap is configured to deflect resulting largely from a flexible connection between said first end and said sidewall.
 13. A method for playing a more sanitary version of classic beer pong wherein a ping pong ball passes through a cup rim of a cup containing a beverage without contacting the beverage and without bouncing back out past the cup rim, comprising: placing an insert cup having at least one catch flap disposed therein into the cup containing the beverage; projecting the ping pong ball towards the cup rim; and retaining the ping pong ball within said insert cup.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: removing said insert cup from the cup containing the beverage; consuming the beverage; and removing the ping pong ball from said insert cup.
 15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: removing the ping pong ball from said insert cup; removing the insert cup from the cup containing the beverage; and consuming the beverage.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein said retaining of the ping pong ball comprises slowing the ping pong ball as the ping pong ball contacts said at least one catch flap.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein said retaining of the ping pong ball comprises restricting exit of the ping pong ball out of said insert cup as the ping pong ball contacts said at least one catch flap.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the beverage is non-alcoholic.
 19. The method of claim 13, wherein said at least one catch flap is connected to a sidewall of said insert cup by a heat formed engagement.
 20. The method of claim 13, wherein said at least one catch flap is connected to a rim component, and wherein said rim component is connected to a sidewall of said insert cup by a heat formed engagement. 